As a special bonus to Tom Haire's Trojan game previews this year, we are thrilled to report that the USCFootball.com has not completely lost the services of X&O game preview guru Ted Venegas. Each week, Ted will be providing his thoughts to us on the upcoming USC opponent, and those notes will be a part of each preview. This week: Notre Dame.

I think it's to look back at the Cal game briefly before we turn to the Irish. The Trojans flailed around in the first half, and ran only four plays on their first drive of the second half before punting. Things were looking a little ragged. But in my opinion, this game personified the team under Pete Carroll. David Buehler's kick was huge, and the fact that the coaching staff had the confidence in him to even let him attempt it speaks volumes. After that kick, I knew SC was going to win the game.